A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in updating this series. I promise to be more prompt in the future. Basically, something significant happened in my real life last year that I wasn't ready for at all: emotionally, mentally, etc. I broke up with my fiance It was the right decision and I don't regret it, but it was hard for a good long while there.

It made me lose the energy to write. The desire was there (it never went away), but the will to go through with it vanished. That just made it harder. It was like wanting desperately to eat food when you have a stomach virus, but knowing anything you do eat will just get thrown up. It was miserable.

Thankfully, my mate Raelyn_Sakura was there as were my family and several other close friends to help me through that event. It took a while for the will to write to return though. I had to get lost in another series I started (by accident!) before I realized I writing again!

But now I'm back, and I'm ready to get this thing written. I'm working on a thesis for my Master's though while taking full time classes in college and working so I don't have too much time, but I have enough time. This fic and my other fic Warmth are now my main focuses writing-wise. Other than my thesis, of course.

So get ready to get this show on the road. ^_^

Chapter summary: In which Marik is frantic, the Pharaoh is short, and the Priest arrives.

Shadows Ascending

1: Missing

It wasn't until he stepped out of the bathroom that he first noticed something wasn't right. Ryou's studio was small and, with the exception of the bathroom, was practically without privacy. Other than the built-in wardrobe and maybe under the futon couch, there wasn't any place where a full-grown person could hide.

That being said, where was Ryou?

Marik frowned when he caught sight of the empty mug by the electric kettle on the kitchenette counter. If Ryou had been brewing tea, then he wouldn't have wandered off for long. The Scribe did love his tea, Marik thought with a smirk.

Maybe Ryou had just gone to take out the trash. If that was the case, then he would be back in a couple minutes. He unwound the towel from his head and tossed it over the back of the lone foldable chair across from the futon couch. Normally he wouldn't wear dirty clothes after showering. But since he planned on taking it off again later when he fucked Ryou, he supposed he could break his rule this one time.

He went back into the bathroom and grabbed his brown cargo pants, pulling them on as he hopped back into the main room of the apartment. He crouched down and swiped his purple hoodie vest from the futon and pulled that on too. All he needed now was a hair brush or something to tie his hair up while it dried.

He began pulling out drawers in the built-in kitchenette. That was when he noticed the still full trashcan in one of the larger pull-out drawers. Unnerved by the discovery, Marik pushed the trashcan drawer back into its place and turned to face Ryou's apartment.

The music Ryou must have turned on while Marik was still in the shower still played softly in the background. The light from the streetlamps outside still filtered in through the sheer curtains hanging over the window. by the scanned the room visually before reaching out with his Shadows. He felt the souls of the neighbors in the apartments around Ryou's, but no one else. Cautiously, Marik extended his search to the hallways of the building, then out to the street below, then further out into the city, then as far as he could reach.

Nothing.

He forced his Shadows to stretch as far as they possibly could, squeezing his eyes shut and wincing. He searched, opening himself as far as he dared until the strain of overextending himself forced him to stop. When his consciousness returned to his body, he was on his hands and knees gasping and sweating.

They were gone. Both of them. How? Where? Why?

Marik felt the Shadows, searching for a gap in the Dark. He hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary. Sure enough, there was no gap. Everything felt normal. The Balance was perhaps a bit weaker than he was used to it being. But other than that, everything felt normal.

So what had happened to Ryou and Bakura? Where were they?

Biting back the growing fear in his gut, Marik dug into his pants pocket for his phone. He pulled it out and quickly called Ryou's phone. It took more self-control than it should have for him to keep his heart rate from fluttering frantically.

It rang through the speaker by his ear. It also rang from the floor underneath the futon couch. Marik dropped to his knees and scanned the floor for Ryou's cellphone. He found it half hidden by the fuzzy throw rug that covered part of the floor. Ryou never went anywhere without his phone. Bakura sometimes did, until Marik gave him an earful about the problems of being unreachable.

Like now.

He needed to contact the Pharaoh and inform him of Ryou and Bakura's disappearance, if he didn't know already. Normally, Marik wouldn't have been so concerned about his boyfriends vanishing for an hour or so. But considering the crazy situation they'd left in Greece with Ares, the Priest was feeling somewhat overprotective.

On second thought, perhaps he should contact Ishizu first. Maybe Shaadi had come to take the Thief and Scribe back to Egypt without telling Marik. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Shaadi had done something like that. Honestly, did the Advisor never learn when to stop meddling?

Clutching his boyfriend's phone in one hand, Marik dialed his sister on his own phone and waited impatiently for her to pick up. When she did, she sounded exhausted. He winced in sympathy. He'd probably woken her up.

"Hello?" Ishizu mumbled into the phone, her voice husky from sleep.

"Sister," Marik said, leaning against the corner of the kitchenette. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Mm, no," she said. "I haven't gone to bed yet. I was taking a bath."

"You had better have taken it alone," Marik grumbled habitually, crossing his arms over his chest.

The Priestess heaved a sigh that was practically a groan. "If you called me just to complain about Shaadi, then I'm hanging up," she said. "I'm too tired to mediate right now."

"No!" Marik said a bit too hastily. "Don't hang up."

"Marik?" Ishizu asked. "Are you alright?"

The Priest dropped his gaze to Ryou's phone in his hand, brushing a thumb over the as he struggled to find the words. "Have you seen Ryou or Bakura?" he asked, trying his best to sound casual.

"Not since we left Greece," Ishizu said cautiously. "Why?"

"Because they're gone," Marik said, walking to the apartment window. The city lights glittered spitefully in the darkness. "As in gone gone. I can't feel them anywhere. I've reached as far as I can with my Shadows and nothing."

"What?" Ishizu gasped. "When did this happen?"

"That's just it," Marik said, gesturing helplessly. "They were here when I went to take a shower. I come out and they're gone."

"Are you sure they didn't go-"

"I'm sure," Marik said, thumping his forehead against the windowpane in exasperation. "Ryou was brewing tea. The kettle's finished, his mug has sugar in it but nothing else, his music is still playing, I've tried calling his phone but no response, I've-"

"Alright, alright, calm down," the Priestess said. "Have you contacted the Pharaoh? Maybe he knows where they went."

Marik shook his head, stepping away from the window to sit on the futon couch. "He's still with that Faerie in Faerie-topia," he said, letting his head hang. He sighed and ran a hand over his head. "I do not need this right now," he grumbled. "We literally just finished dealing with the Greeks. We're all tired and in no shape to deal with-"

"Marik, calm down."

Obediently, Marik closed his eyes and focused on taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Now," his sister said in a calm voice, "we have no proof yet whether Ryou and Bakura have been taken or if they just left on their own."

"They wouldn't do that," Marik said wearily.

"True," Ishizu agreed. "But we don't know if the other option is viable either."

"But I can't feel them, Ishizu," Marik argued. "I literally cannot feel them. I couldn't even catch a hint of their Shadows." His eyes narrowed. "Sister, did Shaadi take my boyfriends again?"

Ishizu sighed. "No, Marik. He didn't. He's with me at the moment. Shaadi," she said, her voice becoming distant, probably turning her head to talk to the Advisor. "Is Kaiba awake yet?"

Mumbled words in the Advisor's soft, distinct tones filtered through the phone speaker. Unfortunately, whatever Shaadi said was too soft for Marik to make out.

"Shaadi can't reach Kaiba so he's probably resting," Ishizu said. "It's about time," she added in a tone Marik knew all too well.

He snorted despite his growing anxiety. Kaiba was wise to choose Ishizu as his Priestess. But Marik was ninety-eight percent certain the Regent had not been prepared for the mothering Ishizu Ishtar was capable of. She worried over anyone under her watch like a circling hawk hunting prey.

"Marik."

Marik instantly lifted his head and focused on his sister's words. "I'm still here," he said.

"Good," she said gently. "Now, try contacting the Pharaoh. He might know where your boyfriends are. If he doesn't, then he may be able to help you find them." The faint whistle of what sounded like a kettle rang from the background on Ishizu's end of the call. "Could you get that?" Ishizu called, her voice muffled as she turned her head away to speak to Shaadi.

Marik sighed. "Alright," he said. "I don't know where he is, but I'll try-"

"About that," his sister said suddenly, "try reaching downward with your Shadows."

"Down?" Marik parroted in confusion. "What? You mean down into the earth? Like underground?"

"No," the Priestess said. "I mean allow your consciousness to enter to Shadows as if you're about to Travel, then, instead of reaching out horizontally, try reaching downwards."

"Wha- I mean, okay, but why?" the Priest asked. "What does that do?"

"It's how Kaiba, Shaadi, and Mai traveled to the other reality," Ishizu said.

Instantly, Marik sat upright, his eyes wide.

"It was Green Arrow's idea," Ishizu continued. "Think of our reality as anything within reach on the horizontal plane. The other realities are on the vertical plane."

Marik narrowed his eyes as he mulled over this new information. "Would that work with different dimensions?" he pressed. "I doubt the Pharaoh is in another reality. I can still feel the Dark and it's not… It's still here, if you know what I mean."

"I do," his sister said. "It may work, it way not. But it's worth a try."

"Is that how you figured out Mokuba was in another reality and not just somewhere else in this reality?" Marik asked curiously.

"Yes." She sighed. "I honestly don't know if this will work," she admitted hesitantly, "but it is worth a try."

Marik nodded even though he knew she couldn't see. "I'll give it a go," he said. "If it works, I'll let you know."

"Thank you," Ishizu said. "I'll keep watch over your progress from here."

"Don't strain yourself," Marik said, closing his eyes and focusing on his Shadow senses.

"I won't," the Priestess said. "I doubt Shaadi will let me."

A blonde eyebrow twitched. "One day, I swear-"

"Watch your words, brother," Ishizu warned.

Rolling his eyes, Marik grumbled. "I'll call you later," he said.

"Please do. Be safe, brother."

"When am I not?"

"Always."

Before his sister could elaborate, Marik hung up and let his hands drop to his lap. He studied both his and Ryou's phones in his palms. After a moment, he clutched them tightly and closed his eyes, drawing his Shadows to him. They came whispering and grasping to his call. Their words were a mesh of voices that clamored over each other despite never growing in volume.

He shushed them with a firm thought, waiting for them to calm and begin swirling around him, waiting for his command. When he was ready, he allowed his consciousness to drift into the Shadows' clutches, feeling them writhe with him, whispering their excitement, ready for the hunt. He grinned both here and in the human world as the Shadows' enthusiasm infected him.

Then he plunged downwards, feeling for a 'bottom' of some kind. Was there a bottom? He couldn't feel one no matter how far he reached. However, curiously, the further down he dove, the further he felt the Pharaoh's signature Darkness drift. He stopped his descent and lifted his Shadow senses upwards. If down led to alternate realities, then would up lead to alternate dimensions?

No reason not to try.

His Shadows surged upwards, carrying his consciousness with them. He was lost in a cloud of whispers and brushes, continually climbed. When the Pharaoh's Darkness neared, he knew he was heading the right direction. He felt a tingle but ignored it. He hadn't reached the Pharaoh yet. Another tingle, again he ignored it. A third tingle and this time he slowed to a stop.

The Pharaoh was here. He knew it. He could feel it. He could hear it. The Pharaoh's Shadows whispered incessantly, speaking of Osiris, or the Darkness, of the Light, of curiosity, of worry, of the Regent. Marik felt his body smirk. The Regent was here too. The Shadows of the Balance were soft, resting, but they were here. So was the Balance's Fulcrum and the Knight. Everyone in one place.

Everyone except the Thief and the Scribe.

He could feel a slight strain on his Shadows from diving so deeply for so long. He would have to come out of this soon. Might as well come out here, if he could.

First, he needed an anchor of some kind just in case. He lashed out with his Shadows, tangling with the Pharaoh's Shadows and yanking hard. He felt the Pharaoh stumble in surprise before he was suddenly the focus of the monarch's full attention. The full force of the Pharaoh's Darkness would have intimidated any Balance, except the Regent, and terrified any Light. But it was a warm welcome to the Priest of the Dark Tried; a welcome which Marik readily accepted.

"Arawn?" Yugi asked, moving closer to the Unseelie King. "Are you and King Pwyll okay?"

The Fae studied the Shadow user before handing Pwyll over to his wife and getting to his feet. Standing straight, he towered over Yugi. His black clothes, stark white hair, and blood red eyes carved an intimidating figure against the Otherworld's sky. Arawn crossed his arms and aimed a glare the Shadow King.

"What, by the Caldron, was that?" he demanded in a voice that made it very clear he would not accept anything less than the truth.

Yugi hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "It was…" He sighed. "I'm not really sure how to explain it, but… Someone named Paradox tried to destroy the Shadow Realm which caused…that."

A thick white eyebrow lifted to Arawn's hairline in disbelief. "Paradox?" he said in a flat tone.

Yugi shrugged helplessly. "I doubt it's his true name," he said. "But that's the name he gave us."

"The guy had mor' 'n a few screws loose, if ya know what I mean," Jounouchi said, stepping up so he stood next to his friend. "Crazy wack-job."

Arawn's eyes narrowed but it was Pwyll who spoke, his words slow but sure despite his dizzy disposition. "If this Paradox attacked your Shadow Realm, then why did it affect the Otherworld?" he asked. "Nothing should cause such destruction in this realm like that except the end of the world."

"Well," Jounouchi drawled, "it was the end of the world, so…"

"What?" the Fae woman by Arawn's side gasped. She stood, easily supporting a still woozy looking Pwyll on one shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"What you say cannot be true," the Seelie King said, easing himself up so he stood on his own. He flashed Arawn a reassuring smile when the Unseelie glanced worriedly at him. "The seers would be unable to see the future if there was none to see," he said, turning his attention back to the Shadow users. "I know they have seen far into the future. I consulted with them myself only two days ago."

"Yeah, 'bout that," Jounouchi said, scratching his head awkwardly. "See, this Paradox dude, he's not fr'm aroun' 'ere. We kinda had to fight 'im in another reality."

"The Shadow Realm?" Arawn pressed.

Yugi shook his head. "No," he said. "Another reality. Another Earth." He flushed. "I know this might sound ridiculous but the Shadow Realm is connected to every Earth in existence. All of them. Paradox was trying to destroy the Shadow Realm and very nearly succeeded which resulted in time breaking down across the Earths in the multiverse."

"It's possible not all of the Earths were affected," the Pharaoh said, materializing next to the young King startling the Fae. "The Earth in this reality was most likely affected due to its relative proximity to the reality where Paradox was staging his assault."

The female Fae considered the Pharaoh curiously. "I suppose you're the Pharaoh I've heard so much about," she said.

"I am," Yami said, nodding to her respectfully.

The woman hummed and reached out to pat the Pharaoh on the head, catching the monarch off guard. "Hmm, I thought you'd be taller," she said.

The Pharaoh wilted, a brilliant red flush in his cheeks. Next to him, Yugi smiled awkwardly.

"I'm plenty tall," Yami said in an offended tone, although his words were drowned out by the Unseelie King's uproarious laughter. He snarled in annoyance.

"Woman after my own heart, indeed," Arawn crowed proudly. Next to him, Pwyll sighed in tired amusement. "My lords Atum," Arawn said, "I would like you to meet my wife, Primula. Together we keep the Unseelie Court on their toes with ease."

"I'm sure," the Pharaoh said, sulking.

Yugi sighed and nudged his Ka affectionately. Jounouchi, however, had slapped both hands over his mouth and looked about ready to explode from the effort of holding back his laughter. However, the Knight knew better than to tease Yami about his and Yugi's height, or lack thereof. They were both a bit touchy about that subject.

Too bad laughter took precedence. All it took was for Yugi to glance at his Knight and snort and Jounouchi lost it. The Knight laughed so hard he could barely stand. Even the Pharaoh's formidable glare did nothing to stop the endless flood of laughter.

Blue Eyes lifted her head slightly from the ground, her glittering blue eyes watching the scene with interest. A soft, deep-throated rumble reverberated from her throat in what could be considered a chuckle. The Pharaoh shot her a look which she returned with a toothy grin.

:I have lived with your cousin of old for too long, Pharaoh,: she said in the minds of those present. :As it happens, you are short. Seto towers over you.:

"Well," Jounouchi said, finally beginning to recover from his laughing fit, "technically, Moneybags towers over everyone. Figuratively and literally," he added in a frustrated grumble.

The rumble returned. :True,: Blue Eyes said, this time with her amusement clearly audible in her voice.

Soft laughter from the others present drew the dragon's attention. Blue Eyes lifted her head and turned her sharp gaze to the Greek Titaness seated by her brother's side in the sunlight.

"Well met," the Titaness said gently. She covered her husband's hand resting on her shoulder with her own as she spoke. "We owe you and your Regent our thanks for protecting my brother."

:I have never met your brother directly,: Blue Eyes said, dropping her nose respectfully, :but I will say I and Seto have enjoyed your brother's company. Mokuba does as well. I am sorry we could not protect him from Ares.:

Selene shook her head. "Do not apologize," she said. "You did what you could. That is more than I could ask for. I hope to convey my gratitude when your Regent awakens."

:You need not,: Blue Eyes said.

"Nevertheless," Endymion said, squeezing his wife's shoulder, "We wish to."

Blue Eyes rumbled. :Very well. It would be appreciated. However, Seto will sleep for a few hours more at least.: Her teeth clicked. :I will make sure of that.:

"I'm sure you will," Selene said with a chuckle. Her silver-gray eyes drifted to her brother who still slept on the cushioned pedestal. "I believe my brother shall also rest," she whispered. "Though I wish for him to wake."

:He shall, Lady,: the dragon said. :If there is one thing I have learned about your brother during the short while I have known him, it is that he has a strong will to live and protect. He will awaken.:

The Titaness nodded. "Yes," she said, a smile playing on her lips. "I know he will. Though I would prefer sooner rather than later."

Blue Eyes snorted. :Wouldn't we all,: she said wryly.

Suddenly, the dragon's eyes flashed and she lifted her head fully, gazing at the sky. Her mouth opened in a snarl that startled those present. Then the Pharaoh jolted, almost losing his footing at the same time Jounouchi yelped and darted behind Yugi. Both the Pharaoh and the Knight stared at something only those with Shadows could see while.

"Oh, by the Caldron," Arawn groaned loudly. "What now?"

"Nothing to worry about," the Pharaoh said, grinning. "Just another guest. It appears my Priest has decided to join us."

"What?" Pwyll gasped, his violet eyes wide in shock. "How?"

Before he could get an answer, a mass of inky blackness grew from the shadow cast on the patio from the tower of Avalon. The blackness coalesced in a humanoid form, then a pair of lilac eyes opened where the shadow person's head should be moments before the blackness faded away.

"Theatrical as usual, Marik," Yami said.

The Priest sniffed. "Coming from you, that's almost funny," he said. "But I didn't come here to put on a show." His eyes darkened to something dangerous. "Tell me Pharaoh," Marik said, his calm voice a stark contrast to the raging fury blazing in his eyes, "where are Ryou and Bakura? Where are my boyfriends?"